I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1603 

To establish the Emergency Trade Deficit Commission, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 15, 2011 

Mr. DEFAZIO (for himself, Mr. MICHAUD, Ms. SUTTON, Mr. JONES, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. FILNER, Mr. GRIJALVA, and Ms. SLAUGHTER) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL 

To establish the Emergency Trade Deficit Commission, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress makes the following findings: 

5 (1) The United States has run persistent trade 

6 deficits since 1978, and many of the trade deficits 

7 since 2000 have been especially large. 

8 (2) The United States trade deficit rose from 

9 $374,900,000,000 in 2009 to $497,800,000,000 in 

10 2010, an increase of 33 percent. 


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1 (3) Many of the trade deficits are structural— 

2 that is, with the same countries, year after year. In 

3 2010, the United States continued to have signifi4 cant merchandise trade deficits with the People’s 

5 Republic of China ($273,100,000,000), the Euro6 pean Union ($79,800,000,000), Japan 

7 ($59,800,000,000), and Mexico ($66,300,000,000), 

8 notwithstanding the overall decline in the United 

9 States trade deficit. In fact, in 2010, China ac10 counted for 42 percent of the United States mer11 chandise trade deficit. 

12 (4) While the United States has one of the 

13 most open borders and economies in the world, the 

14 United States faces significant tariff and nontariff 

15 trade barriers with its trading partners. 

16 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com18 mission to be known as the Emergency Trade Deficit 

19 Commission (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commis20 sion’’). 

21 (b) MEMBERSHIP OF COMMISSION.— 

22 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be 

23 composed of 11 members, of whom— 

24 (A) three persons shall be appointed by the 

25 President, of whom one shall be appointed to 


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1 represent labor interests, one shall be appointed 

2 to represent small businesses, and one shall be 

3 appointed to represent manufacturing interests; 

4 (B) two persons shall be appointed by the 

5 President pro tempore of the Senate upon the 

6 recommendation of the majority leader of the 

7 Senate, after consultation with the Chairman of 

8 the Committee on Finance of the Senate; 

9 (C) two persons shall be appointed by the 

10 President pro tempore of the Senate upon the 

11 recommendation of the minority leader of the 

12 Senate, after consultation with the ranking mi13 nority member of the Committee on Finance of 

14 the Senate; 

15 (D) two persons shall be appointed by the 

16 Speaker of the House of Representatives, after 

17 consultation with the Chairman of the Com18 mittee on Ways and Means of the House of 

19 Representatives; and 

20 (E) two persons shall be appointed by the 

21 minority leader of the House of Representa22 tives, after consultation with the ranking minor23 ity member of the Committee on Ways and 

24 Means of the House of Representatives. 

25 (2) QUALIFICATIONS OF MEMBERS.— 


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1 (A) PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENTS.—Of 

2 the persons appointed under paragraph (1)(A), 

3 not more than one may be an officer, employee, 

4 or paid consultant of the executive branch. 

5 (B) OTHER APPOINTMENTS.—Persons ap6 pointed under subparagraph (B), (C), (D), or 

7 (E) of paragraph (1) shall be persons who— 

8 (i) have expertise in economics, inter9 national trade, manufacturing, labor, envi10 ronment, or business, or have other perti11 nent qualifications or experience; and 

12 (ii) are not officers or employees of 

13 the United States. 

14 (C) OTHER CONSIDERATIONS.—In appoint15 ing members of the Commission, every effort 

16 shall be made to ensure that the members— 

17 (i) are representative of a broad cross18 section of economic and trade perspectives 

19 within the United States; and 

20 (ii) provide fresh insights in to identi21 fying the causes and consequences of the 

22 United States trade deficit and developing 

23 recommendations to address structural 

24 trade imbalances. 

25 (c) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Members shall be appointed 

2 not later than 60 days after the date of the enact3 ment of this Act and the appointment shall be for 

4 the life of the Commission. 

5 (2) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Commis6 sion shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled in 

7 the same manner as the original appointment was 

8 made. 

9 (d) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days after 

10 the date on which all members of the Commission have 

11 been appointed, the Commission shall hold its first meet12 ing. 

13 (e) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the 

14 call of the Chairperson. 

15 (f) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The 

16 members of the Commission shall elect a chairperson and 

17 vice chairperson from among the members of the Commis18 sion. 

19 (g) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the 

20 Commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction 

21 of business. 

22 (h) VOTING.—Each member of the Commission shall 

23 be entitled to one vote, which shall be equal to the vote 

24 of every other member of the Commission. 


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1 SEC. 3. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be respon3 sible for examining the nature, causes, and consequences 

4 of the United States trade deficit and providing rec5 ommendations on how to address and reduce structural 

6 trade imbalances, including with respect to the United 

7 States merchandise trade deficit, in order to promote sus8 tainable economic growth that provides broad-based in9 come and employment gains. 

10 (b) CAUSES OF U.S. TRADE DEFICIT.—In examining 

11 the causes of the United States trade deficit, the Commis12 sion shall, among other things— 

13 (1) identify and assess the impact of macro14 economic factors, including currency practices, for15 eign government purchases of United States assets, 

16 and savings and investment rates, including savings 

17 rates of foreign state-owned enterprises, on United 

18 States bilateral trade imbalances and global trade 

19 imbalances; 

20 (2) with respect to countries with which the 

21 United States has significant, persistent sectoral or 

22 bilateral trade deficits, assess with respect to the 

23 magnitude and composition of such trade deficits— 

24 (A) the impact of tariff and nontariff bar25 riers maintained by such countries and the lack 


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1 of reciprocal market access as a result of such 

2 barriers; 

3 (B) the impact of investment, offset, and 

4 technology transfer requirements by such coun5 tries; 

6 (C) any impact due to the failure of such 

7 countries to adhere to internationally recognized 

8 labor standards, including the extent to which 

9 such failure affects conditions of competition 

10 with the United States or the ability of con11 sumers in such countries to buy United States 

12 goods and services; 

13 (D) any impact due to differences in levels 

14 of environmental protection and enforcement of 

15 environmental laws between such countries and 

16 the United States, including the extent to which 

17 such differences affect conditions of competition 

18 with the United States; 

19 (E) policies maintained by such countries 

20 that assist manufacturers in such countries, in21 cluding the impact of such policies on manufac22 turers in the United States; and 

23 (F) the impact of border tax adjustments 

24 by such countries; 


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1 (3) examine the impact of free trade agree2 ments on the United States trade deficit; 

3 (4) examine the impact of investment flows 

4 both into and out of the United States on the trade 

5 deficit, including— 

6 (A) the impact of United States outbound 

7 investment on the United States trade deficit 

8 and on standards of living and production in 

9 the United States; 

10 (B) the impact that the relocation of pro11 duction facilities overseas has on the United 

12 States trade deficit, including by reviewing 

13 major domestic plant closures over an appro14 priate representative period to determine how 

15 much production terminated from such closures 

16 was relocated offshore; 

17 (C) the impact of foreign direct investment 

18 in the United States on the United States trade 

19 deficit and on standards of living and produc20 tion in the United States; and 

21 (D) the impact of United States bilateral 

22 investment treaties, including bilateral invest23 ment treaties under negotiation, on the United 

24 States trade deficit; 


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1 (5) examine the role and impact of imports of 

2 oil and other energy products on the United States 

3 trade deficit; and 

4 (6) assess the extent to which United States 

5 foreign policy interests influence United States eco6 nomic and trade policies. 

7 (c) CONSEQUENCES OF U.S. TRADE DEFICIT.—In 

8 examining the consequences of the United States trade 

9 deficit, the Commission shall, among other things— 

10 (1) identify and, to the extent practicable, 

11 quantify the impact of the trade deficit on the over12 all domestic economy, and, with respect to different 

13 sectors of the economy, on manufacturing capacity, 

14 on the number and quality of jobs, on wages, and 

15 on health, safety, and environmental standards; 

16 (2) assess the effects the trade deficits in the 

17 areas of manufacturing and technology have on de18 fense production and innovation capabilities of the 

19 United States; and 

20 (3) assess the impact of significant, persistent 

21 trade deficits, including sectoral and bilateral trade 

22 deficits, on United States economic growth. 

23 (d) RECOMMENDATIONS.—In making recommenda24 tions, the Commission shall, among other things— 


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1 (1) identify specific strategies for achieving im2 proved trade balances with those countries with 

3 which the United States has significant, persistent 

4 sectoral or bilateral trade deficits; 

5 (2) identify United States trade policy tools in6 cluding enforcement mechanisms that can be more 

7 effectively used to address the underlying causes of 

8 structural trade deficits; 

9 (3) identify domestic and trade policies that can 

10 enhance the competitiveness of United States manu11 facturers domestically and globally, including those 

12 policies of the United States and other countries 

13 that have been successful in promoting competitive14 ness; 

15 (4) address ways to improve the coordination 

16 and accountability of Federal departments and agen17 cies relating to trade; and 

18 (5) examine ways to improve the adequacy of 

19 the collection and reporting of trade data, including 

20 identifying and developing additional databases and 

21 economic measurements that may be needed to prop22 erly assess the causes and consequences of the 

23 United States trade deficit. 


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1 SEC. 4. REPORT. 

2 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 16 months after the 

3 date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall 

4 submit to the President and the Committee on Ways and 

5 Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

6 on Finance of the Senate a report that contains— 

7 (1) the findings and conclusions of the Commis8 sion described in section 3; and 

9 (2) any recommendations for administrative 

10 and legislative actions as the Commission considers 

11 necessary. 

12 (b) SEPARATE VIEWS.—Any member of the Commis13 sion may submit additional findings and recommendations 

14 as part of the report. 

15 SEC. 5. POWERS OF COMMISSION. 

16 (a) HEARINGS.—The Commission may hold such 

17 hearings, sit and act at such times and places, take such 

18 testimony, and receive such evidence as the Commission 

19 considers advisable to carry out this Act. The Commission 

20 shall hold at least seven public hearings, one or more in 

21 Washington, DC, and four in different regions of the 

22 United States. 

23 (b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The 

24 Commission may secure directly from any Federal depart25 ment or agency such information as the Commission con26 siders necessary to carry out this Act. Upon request of 


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1 the Chairperson of the Commission, the head of such de2 partment or agency shall furnish such information to the 

3 Commission. 

4 (c) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use 

5 the United States mails in the same manner and under 

6 the same conditions as other Federal departments and 

7 agencies. 

8 SEC. 6. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS. 

9 (a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—Each member of 

10 the Commission who is not an officer or employee of the 

11 Federal Government shall be compensated at a rate equal 

12 to the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay pre13 scribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule under sec14 tion 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day (in15 cluding travel time) during which such member is engaged 

16 in the performance of the duties of the Commission. All 

17 members of the Commission who are officers or employees 

18 of the United States shall serve without compensation in 

19 addition to that received for their services as officers or 

20 employees of the United States. 

21 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the Com22 mission shall be allowed travel expenses, including per 

23 diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employ24 ees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 

25 5, United States Code, while away from their homes or 


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1 regular places of business in the performance of duties of 

2 the Commission. 

3 (c) STAFF.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson of the 

5 Commission may, without regard to the civil service 

6 laws and regulations, appoint and terminate an exec7 utive director and such other additional personnel as 

8 may be necessary to enable the Commission to per9 form its duties. The employment of an executive di10 rector shall be subject to confirmation by the Com11 mission. 

12 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Chairperson of the 

13 Commission may fix the compensation of the execu14 tive director and other personnel without regard to 

15 the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of 

16 chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, relating 

17 to classification of positions and General Schedule 

18 pay rates, except that the rate of pay for the execu19 tive director and other personnel may not exceed the 

20 rate payable for level V of the Executive Schedule 

21 under section 5316 of such title. 

22 (d) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—Any 

23 Federal Government employee may be detailed to the 

24 Commission without reimbursement, and such detail shall 


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1 be without interruption or loss of civil service status or 

2 privilege. 

3 (e) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMIT4 TENT SERVICES.—The Chairperson of the Commission 

5 may procure temporary and intermittent services under 

6 section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at rates 

7 for individuals which do not exceed the daily equivalent 

8 of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of 

9 the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of such title. 

10 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; GAO AUDIT. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro12 priated $2,000,000 to the Commission to carry out this 

13 Act. 

14 (b) GAO AUDIT.—Not later than 6 months after the 

15 date on which the Commission terminates, the Comptroller 

16 General of the United States shall complete an audit of 

17 the financial books and records of the Commission and 

18 shall submit a report on the audit to the President and 

19 the Congress. 

20 SEC. 8. TERMINATION OF COMMISSION. 

21 The Commission shall terminate 30 days after the 

22 date on which the Commission submits its report under 

23 section 4(a). 


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1 SEC. 9. MORATORIUM ON FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS. 

2 The President shall not submit to the Congress any 

3 free trade agreement, or any legislation implementing a 

4 free trade agreement, until the report of the Commission 

5 has been delivered to the Congress and the President 

6 under section 4(a). 

Æ 


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